Trey Pearson’s ‘Dear Jesus’ Reminds LGBTQ People They Can Be Spiritual, Too

As Trey Pearson started planning the music video for his tune “Hey Jesus,” he had one major goal: to “wrap up all of the feelings” he felt as a younger homosexual man in a fundamentalist Christian household.

“It’s the quickest I had ever written a tune, after which I simply spent hours after I wrote it bawling on the ground of my lounge,” mentioned Pearson, an Ohio native who spent 20 years because the frontman of the rock band On a regular basis Sunday. “It feels extraordinarily liberating to have the ability to write and sing about these feelings.”

Launched final week and viewable above, the “Hey Jesus” video finds Pearson having fun with a young second in mattress with a male accomplice. These intimate scenes are interspersed with pictures of a drag queen and a younger boy on an athletic subject who be a part of Pearson in singing the tune.

As remoted because the characters might really feel, all of them are united of their willpower to dwell genuine lives as LGBTQ folks of religion.

“Many LGBTQ adults within the U.S. grew up in conservative evangelical or Catholic properties, so I needed the video to have a glimpse of how rising up brainwashed to assume one thing is incorrect with you impacts so many individuals,” Pearson mentioned. “As somebody who has all the time needed to be self-aware and susceptible, it feels superb to lastly be capable of do this and to work to carry that honesty to my music.”

Courtesy of Trey Pearson
“It felt like a valve burst open of feelings after I lastly did settle for myself, together with my creativity,” mentioned Trey Pearson, who got here out as homosexual in 2016.

“Hey Jesus” seems on Pearson’s debut solo EP, “Love Is Love.” The seven-song assortment, which incorporates the title monitor and the beforehand launched single “Silver Horizon,” represents the broad “vary of feelings” the singer-songwriter has skilled since he got here out publicly as homosexual in an open letter to followers within the June 2016 challenge of (614) Journal.

However Pearson’s street to dwelling authentically was not with out its setbacks. In 2016, he and his On a regular basis Sunday band mates had been minimize from the lineup of California’s Joshua Fest, a “family-friendly” Christian music competition staged simply weeks after he got here out. Nonetheless, he has no regrets.

“I had all the time used my artwork to attempt to specific the feelings I used to be going by [and] it felt like a valve burst open of feelings after I lastly did settle for myself, together with my creativity,” Pearson mentioned. “I’ve had a lot to put in writing about as I got here out to myself and within the time since then, as I’ve been processing my journey and experiencing so many elements of life I had by no means been capable of expertise earlier than.”

“I hope there are children that really feel like they aren’t worthy of affection that encounter this and discover out they’re not alone, and that they’re worthy of being liked precisely as they’re.”Trey Pearson, singer-songwriter

“Hey Jesus” is being launched as Pearson heads again to the recording studio as soon as once more, with plans to launch new music later this yr and in early 2020. He’s additionally engaged on his first e-book, which he describes as “a memoir of my journey to self-acceptance.”

To this point, he mentioned, viewers response to “Hey Jesus” has been overwhelmingly constructive. As for many who might not be instantly receptive to its message, he want to consider that the tune and video will “transfer their hearts” in a small however substantial method.

“I hope that it brings hope to folks,” Pearson added. “I hope there are children that really feel like they aren’t worthy of affection that encounter this and discover out they’re not alone, and that they’re worthy of being liked precisely as they’re.”

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